Closing the Distance
by Alaizabel
Summary: Dory finally tells Marlin her feelings for him. But how will he react? Marlins POV. CHAPTER 3 IS UP!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I whether own "Finding Nemo" nor any of the characters!  
  
Authors Note: My first "Finding Nemo"- Fan Fic! During the whole movie I had the feeling that Dory secretly liked Marlin. And, a little piece of interesting information for the fans in Great Britain, America or whereever else: When Marlin and Dory think that Nemo is dead and Marlin is about to swim home, Dory says (translated to the English): "I don't want to loose that feeling! I don't want to forget!" Quite interesting, I think. And now, please read and don't forget to review! ^____^  
  
Closing the Distance  
  
"Dory!" I called, standing in front of her tunnel, waiting for her to come out.  
  
"Coming!" was the answer coming from inside. I turned around to look where Nemo had gone. A feeling of relief filled me when I noticed he was right behind me. I couldn't help it, I was still kinda worried whenever he was out of sight. But, on the other side, which parent wouldn't?  
  
"Oh, dad.", he said, with a little smile on his face. "I'm not a baby anymore. That's embarrassing."  
  
"No, of course you aren't, Nemo." I turned around to see Dory had finally moved out of her tunnel. But, in fact, I never minded to wait for her.  
  
"Hi.", I said, smiling a little insecure. "Well, are you ready? Nemo can't wait to get to the playground."  
  
"Really? Then we should go." She smiled and took Nemos fin and he seemed to mind very little. I was pretty sure he wouldn't let me do a thing like this. But Dory acted like it was the most naturally thing in the world, so the two of them swam away. With excitement in his voice, Nemo told Dory about school and his friends and she listened, paying much attention and seeming really interested in what he said. She knew how to handle kids and Nemo liked her.  
  
"Hey, Marlin, what's keeping you?" Dory turned around, looking questioningly, but smiling at me brightly, the way she always did. I swam up to them.  
  
"We wanted to go to the playground, remember?" Nemo asked, beginning to turn impatient.  
  
"Sorry", I muttered lowly with a feeling of embarrassment. "I was thinking about something, and. well. I guess I almost forgot, that."  
  
"You almost forgot, eh?" Dory asked, interrupting me. "That's funny, when we met for the first time, I was the one who forgot everything."  
  
"Yes, you're right." I smiled, realizing we reached the playground at this moment and Nemo swam off to his friends, leaving Dory and me alone. "It actually seems like your memory got better."  
  
She nodded. "P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby way, Sydney! See?" She looked at me, proudly smiling. "And that's all because of you."  
  
"Dory. You'll make me feel embarrassed. You're exaggerating. I mean, I had nothing to do with that."  
  
"Oh, of course you had! - But, by the way, what did you want to say? I mean, before I interrupted?"  
  
I looked at her, stunned, then laughed out loudly. "I. I forgot." Dory starred at me, then joined in my laughter. Yeah, that was what had been missing throughout all the years since Coral died: Happiness, laughter, joy. Of course, I had shared much of this with Nemo, but with another adult around. Even with a female. Too make it short, with Dory, it was quite different. After Coral died, I wouldn't have guessed I could ever feel this again, but I did. And I liked it.  
  
"Marlin.", Dory suddenly said, looking at me very serious. "We need to talk."  
  
"Well then, let's talk. What's up?" We sat down on a stone, I began to relax and watched the kids playing.  
  
"Marlin." She took a deep breath. "It is because. Well, I don't know how to say that, I."  
  
I suddenly had a vague idea about what she tried to tell me. No. I did not want that, not now. It would destroy everything, our whole friendship. "Dory, please. I guess I know what you want to say and I. I."  
  
"I guess I kinda had a crush on you." She blushed and looked at me, waiting for an answer.  
  
"Dory, I. I know it's been years since Coral died, but I. I don't know if I'm ready for this love thing yet. I mean, let us give it time, let's be friends. Okay?"  
  
"Okay." She nodded in disappointment. "If time is what you need. We have plenty of that." She smiled, tears in her eyes, trying to be brave.  
  
"Thank you." I turned around as I heard Nemo call my name. He waved to us and we waved back. "It is not that I don't like you. I hope you understand that."  
  
"Do I have a choice? But of course I do."  
  
Nemo swam up to me, and I said: "Dory, would you mind if we leave now? I think I'll have to think about a few things." I smiled shyly, still kinda embarrassed.  
  
"But, dad, I want to stay with my friends!" Nemo protested. "Please, only a few hours."  
  
"He's right", Dory agreed. "Let him stay. I'll keep a close eye on him."  
  
"Would you? That would be great. Is that okay for you, Nemo?" I turned to face my son who seemed to be satisfied with this solution.  
  
"Yes, of course. Dad, I'm not a baby." He looked at me very seriously, then smiled and swam off to his friends.  
  
"Well, I guess I see you tomorrow?" Dory asked.  
  
"Yeah. See you tomorrow. Bye."  
  
"Bye, Marlin."  
  
With this, I swam off, not turning around until the playgrounf was out of sight.  
  
To be continued.  
  
Authors Note: Done with Chapter one! Hope you liked it! And if there's someone who likes "Finding Nemo" and the idea of Marlin and Dory being a couple as much as I do, please write to Lia_chan@lycos.de ! I'm still searching pen friends! ;-) 


	2. A serious talk

Author's Note: Chapter 2 is ready for you to read! This was fun to write, and it went quite fast. Moreover, I get the feeling I don't like Coral very much. A few days ago, I went to the supermarket, and I found myself calling a box of detergent which has the name 'Coral' on it an 'Idiot'. Kinda silly, I know, but somehow it was fun. ^^ The song I added at the end of the story is "In the light" by DC Talk (or Capewalk, I prefer Capewalk). It is a song I learned at church, not a lovesong or something like that at all. But I think the two verses describe Marlins situation quite well. If you want the MP3 file of it, please send me a mail with the subject "Capewalk".  
  
Chapter 2: A serious talk  
  
Damn it! Why did I have to say a stupid thing like that? Yes, it was true that I was very careful about personal relationships since Corals death, but why? Was it only because I still hadn't been able to overcome what happened years ago? Or was it the fear of loosing a loved person again? I didn't know. But what I knew for sure was that I had been swimming around for hours and that it was time to go home.  
  
When I arrived, Nemo and Dory were waiting in front of the anemone. Immediately, Nemo swam up to me and gave me a hug.  
  
"Hi Dad! We've been waiting for you!"  
  
"I'm sorry." I looked over to the blue tang swimming slowly behind him. "So Dory brought you home.?"  
  
Dory nodded. "Yeah. I somehow had a strange feeling about letting him go alone." She smiled slightly.  
  
"Thanks, Dory." I smiled back, trying to keep my expression fixed on neutral.  
  
"Well, I think it's time for me to go", she said, then added: "Bye, you two."  
  
"Bye, Dory!" Nemo called, then swam inside the anemone while I just stood there, not knowing what to say, watching her go.  
  
Instinctively, without knowing I would do this, I suddenly heard myself calling: "Dory, wait!" I swam up to her. She looked at me, obviously being confused. "Will I see you tomorrow?"  
  
"Yes, of course", she replied, nodding. "As every day while Nemo's at school."  
  
"Oh, yes, right. I. I guess I just wanted to be sure. Bye."  
  
"Bye." With this, she swam off and I returned to the anemone. Deep inside I felt strange, as if a thousand butterflies were fluttering through my stomach. Just like on the day I had asked Coral to go on a first date with me. But this was quite different, I wasn't going to go on a date with Dory. Or was I.?  
  
Later, when it was time for Nemo to go to bed, he asked me: "Why is it that you don't like Dory?"  
  
I looked at him questioningly, feeling confused. "Who says that?" I asked back.  
  
"My friend Tad", he told me, obviously not knowing what was wrong. "He heard you and Dory talking."  
  
"Oh my." I sighed, thinking about what I should tell him. "Listen. It's not that I don't like her, but our relationship is. Well. Kinda complicated."  
  
"Dad?" Nemo suddenly said.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Will Dory be my new Mom?"  
  
"What?" I looked at him, shocked by the directness of his question.  
  
"Will Dory be my new Mom?" he repeated.  
  
I sighed. "Well, I don't think so."  
  
"But she's your girlfriend?"  
  
"No. Did you think so?"  
  
He nodded. "Everyone says she is. Because you spend so much time with her."  
  
I desperately tried to find the right words. "Dory is a good friend." I finally managed to say.  
  
He seemed to be confused. "So Dory is a girl and she's your friend, but she's not your girlfriend?"  
  
I nodded. "You got it."  
  
"But I don't understand it."  
  
"You don't?"  
  
"No. I just summarized what you said, but I don't understand it."  
  
I smiled at him. "You will, when you're a little bit older. Good night."  
  
"Good night, Dad."  
  
In the light  
  
I keep trying to find a life  
  
On my own, apart from You  
  
I am the king of excuses  
  
I've got one for every selfish thing I do  
  
What's going on inside of me?  
  
I despise my own behavior  
  
This only serves to confirm my suspicions  
  
That I'm still a man in need of a Savior  
  
(chorus)  
  
I wanna be in the Light  
  
As You are in the Light  
  
I wanna shine like the stars in the heavens  
  
Oh, Lord be my Light and be my salvation  
  
Cause all I want is to be in the Light  
  
All I want is to be in the Light  
  
The disease of self runs through my blood  
  
It's a cancer fatal to my soul  
  
Every attempt on my behalf has failed  
  
To bring this sickness under control  
  
Tell me, what's going on inside of me?  
  
I despise my own behavior  
  
This only serves to confirm my suspicions  
  
That I'm still a man in need of a Savior  
  
(repeat chorus)  
  
To be continued. 


	3. Decisions to be made

I'm back! I did not know exactly how to continue this story and I wrote something in the mathmatics tutoring lesson at school^^ (damn it! My teacher almost got me!), but I didn't like it that much, so I thought over it a few times, and now I know exactly how this story will go on... :)  
  
Chapter 3: Decisions to be made  
  
Later that evening, I hardly found sleep. Was it really that obvious that I liked Dory? Even Nemo said that, but he had only told me what his friends had told him and he was not the kind of kid who used to lie. Finally I decided that it was time to overthink some of my opinions, but before I could think further I fell asleep.  
  
Early the next morning I stood up, woke Nemo and we went to school. Nemo swam immediately up to Mr. Ray and his friends and I stood there, talking to the other parents and wondered why Dory wasn't around. I had been looking forwards to meet her.  
  
"Hi Dude!" I suddenly heard a voice behind me and turned around. It was Crush. "Where's the cute little companion of yours?"  
  
"Oh, you mean Dory... To be true, I don't even know."  
  
"So it is not because of yesterday?" he asked carefully, as if he might be about to say something that could hurt or annoy me.  
  
"Yesterday...?" I hardly tried to remember what Crush was talking about and had to admit to myself that his words confused me.  
  
He nodded. "Uh, well... I've heard you two had a little... quarrel."  
  
Suddenly I got the hint and immediately began to tell him things I wasn't even sure myself that I meant it. "No! No, we surely hadn't. It's just that... Well, we had a little discussion about... feelings. That's all."  
  
"Seems to me that there's much more on your mind than you want to tell me. Believe me, others have had this problems as well and most of them survived it. Being in love is not always as easy as you young people imagine." He smiled slightly and though I tried not to show it, I inwards almost hit the roof. Even he thought that...!  
  
I sighed heavily. "Okay. First of all: We have not been quarreling. Second: We are not in love."  
  
"Well, I don't know how Dory thinks about that point, but I am pretty sure that you are in love and that you didn't even notice yourself. Come on, Dude, what are you afraid of? What have you got to loose?"  
  
I turned away, not knowing if I would be able to look him into the eye when I slowly spoke the two short sentences. "Another female I love. That's what I've got to loose." Embarrassing silence filled the air. "I lost my wife when Nemo was very young. I don't know if I'm ready to risk that again."  
  
"What kind of risk are you talking about?" he asked bluntly. "The risk of loosing Dory or the risk of forgetting your wife? Is that the thing you're afraid of?"  
  
I went over his last sentence in my mind once again, then a second and a third time. And at the fourth time, I noticed he was right. I nodded. "That might be the point."  
  
"But you won't forget her! She lives on in your son."  
  
"Right." I had never seen it this way before, but now it seemed as clear as the water that was all around us.  
  
"Okay." He took a deep breath. "Let's come to the point. Just answer this question: Are you in love with Dory?"  
  
I took a moment to think about it, not knowing how to define love, not knowing what to answer.  
  
"Oh, come on, Dude, it can't be that hard! Just think about what you feel when you see her, when you're talking to her, when she touches you..."  
  
I closed my eyes and I thought about it, I did not know how long, maybe it were only minutes, but to me it seemed like hours. I thought about all the moments, about our journey to Sydney, about all the fun we had, all the laughter, about the butterflies in my stomach... "Yes." I heard myself whispering.  
  
"What do you mean by yes?" Immediately I opened my eyes and looked up. Crush was gone. The person who stood in front of me was... Dory. "I'm sorry for being late." She muttered. "But I'm not going to stay, I just came to say that..."  
  
"Dory! I think there's something we should talk about!"  
  
"But I don't think so. I guess you told me quite well what your opinion is. Yesterday, remember?"  
  
"Dory, I..."  
  
"STOP! Marlin, whatever you're about to say, I don't wanna hear it! You understand? I don't know if I'm asking that much of you, but please... Just stop hurting me, okay?"  
  
I stared at her, trying to find the right words to tell her how I felt. "Dory... Please, listen... Just listen... I..."  
  
"Marlin, I know very well that I'm not like Coral at all, and I won't even try to be like her. It wouldn't work. Get your mind clear and come back when you know what you want. You'll have to make a decision: Me or her."  
  
With that, she left me alone with my thoughts.  
  
To be continued... 


End file.
